News
Rebel editor finds a cause
Jeff ( iremillion wants Ills day in court, Lhe ’ ’ year
olil I Wi journalism graduate ol the l ot
Southwestern Louisiana is suing his alma mater tor
stepping on Ins lirst \mendment rights.
Ciremillion, the former editor of the university's
ycarlxiok, l.’Aiadien, stunned the eamptis and a gixxl
deal ot the Bible* Belt with the |W1 puhheation appro
priatelv titled “ \ Slunk to the System."
The ycarlxiok featured several controversial photos,
un hiding one of a topless woman and a man amorous
ly sharing a plate ot spaghetti, and one depleting the
sehiMil's bulldog maseot parked on an Vmeruan llag.
\dministrators, wealthy school eontrihutors and
some students were offended One Benefactor even
suggested (iremillion should have Ins mouth washed
out w ith soap.
“To print that kind of garbage and to have (stti
dents| pay tor it is like being forced to accept an
obscene phone call,” says sophomore Kandy
I airmand
■any am offended toy tide pMe fer the booh * Cuff *ar ceverete.
Circmillion ran tor re ap|M>intmcnt as tali tor in \pril
ami was approved by the campus
('amimunicatmns ( aimmittce I le was already working
on the next edition when he was notified b\ the dean
ot students that someone else had been named editor
Ihis was the first time the administration hail ever
ignored the vote ot the committee
(iremiihon apjK-alcd in the \mcncan ( ml I therttes
t 'nnin, which furnished turn with in attornev lie
filed miii in \pril l'^H.
(.rennlhon wants one sear’s salarv of approximately
S’,MM), a public adinitl.ini e of wrongdoing from the
administration and a tension of the editor selection
pros ess
I he administration has moved to dismiss the case
and is waiting tm the l S Ihstrnt < ourt to make a
dec isioii
I hough resolution of the iase mas take months and
(.rcmtlhon will Ik- at < olumhia t pursuing Ins mas
ter s degree, he says he will not lose enthusiasm for
the fight
”1 think that the universits sent a \er\ wrong tiles
sage," he s.ns “I'ntil that message is set right, I think
that I'll have enough righteous indignation to pursue
it " l mversitv President Rav Niithemcnt dei lined to
comment
Ironically, "'\ Slunk to the S\ stein received first
place in the Yssociatcd ( ollegiate Press (lest of Show
( ompetltion last vui ■ Stephanie l ournet, I he
I ermiltun, l , of Southwestern I ouisiaua
M*C»:Zll
i to 71 <ay», aad they nm (M m Mtvmm
Ivy students chase
their dream fields
" 1 akc Me < >til to the Hall (Janie" took on a
new meaning tor lour college students this
summer, when they visaed all ot the JK major
league ballparks in just JK days a dilfereta
game every day.
Mark Johns, (Jtris I nonet and Mike
(lasagranda ol Princeton l , and Brent
DeKis/ner ol Dartmouth l , all JO years
old, started thinking aliom the idea several
years ago.
“W hen the league schedules came out this
January , it look me four or live days to come
up with our schedule," Johns, a junior, says
'He started out naively hoping we could go
around the country in a big circle and see
everything.”
But the game schedules didn’t work out
that was, and the four ended up going from
Seattle one day to Anaheim, (laid., the next,
from Oakland to Denver and from
Baltimore to Miami, hinharkmg on their
trip July i I, they sometimes traveled more
than 1.1HK) miles from one park to another,
driving through the night in their rented
minivan.
“The worst part was after one week,"
Johns s.ivs "It seemed
like we M lieen on the
ro.ul forever alreads
I he four got help
with their unusual
roadtnp from some
uncx|>ccted plaees
“Two corporate
sponsors approached
us after reading alwiut
our trip m f .S. I
luLty." I (Mine) says. \
sports drink compain
and a hasehall hat
mamifacturer donated
a i <unbined $7, '(H) to
the students I'he trip
tust the group a total
of alMiut S.’.fHM)
I heir celeurity sl.t
tus preceded them around the umnirv, says
Johns. “W e run into reporters in every stadi
urn."
\tter their exhausting journey, the guys
sav the\ .ire older and wiser particularly in
the area ot hasehall park euisinc.
“The hest food was definitely the taptas
and I exas barbeque at the Houston
\strtxh »me," say s lax mev.
\nd the hest stadium? “Fenway Park in
Boston and ( auiden Varils in Baltimore,"
l.ooncy says “ I hey Both have a classic
design, and there's not a had scat in the
house \nd the tans there are great."
()ther highlights include almost catching a
foul hall at Shea Stadium in New York, and
visiting the Baseball Hall ot l ame in
(axipcrstown, N ^
So, alter JH days ot travel stretching from
Cleveland to Oakland, from Montreal to
Miami, are the four planning anything lug
tor next summer?
“I don’t think so," says laxmey. a |umor.
“It’s time to start getting serious alxitit the
joh market
Johns has another pressing priority
“Right now I need to get back into shape
so badly," lie says. “Timi many hotdogs." ■
Joan Hurley, I'he Daily Barometer,
Oregon Slate U.
My thesis is bigger than yours
It’s a strange little office.
A poster titled “Peniscs of the Animal Kingdom" hangs on the wall
behind the desk, displaying drawings of odd-looking genitalia, from a
whale’s long and pointnl member to a bat’s short and roundish one.
On the desk sit little jars containing samples of the hacula (Latin for
“little wand”), a bone common to most carnivores, rodents and pri
mates which may enable copulation.
The oddities in the office belong to U. of Florida graduate student
Ron Edwards, who is researching mammalian genitalia for his Ph.D.
dissertation.
“Genitals have been neglected — in an evolutionary seme, that is,”
Edwards, 28, says. “The way we interact as males and females is influ
enced by biological structure. If we want to understand the biological
history of our own gender interaction, then genital anatomy is some
thin* we shouldn’t neglect.”
Edwards choae to study the evolution of genitalia while earning his
bachelor’s degree at the U. of Chicago. However, he says his profes
sors at Chicago weren’t enthusiastic about his ideas. “They thought I
was nuts," Edwards says. “That’s why I went to a different college f«>r
my graduate research.
Richard Kiltie, Edwards' graduate research adviser, says little work
has been done on genitalia from this perspective.
“People have been embarrassed with this issue, but they’ll just have
to get over it," says Kiltie, a UK zoology associate professor.
Edwards says after three yean of research, he has discovered many
interesting aspects of mammalian copulation. "For instance," he says,
“while I was helping research rats, we discovered that their brains have
a cooling mechanism to prevent overheating their brain tissues during
copulation."
And some mammals’ genitalia have evolved to better fertilize and
stimulate the female, he says
“When considering size, you can’t do much better than to go to the
walruses. They have a baculum as long as my forearm,” he says. “Their
penis it one-third to one-half of their body length.
“But that is just a size issue. What about ornateness and complexity?
For that you go to the rodents. They have a variety of spines and
bumps and sometimes five different erectile tissues.”
Humans, he adds, don't have a baculum. “Our closest relatives, the
apes, all have bacula. But nobody knows why man lost his."
Mary Hart, a former student in Edwards’ class, says she never
thought about people studying genitalia before. “It’s an interesting
concept that he's come up with, says Hart, a recent UF graduate in
zoology. “He is always willing to discuss his work with his students. He
is an interesting guy to talk with.” ■ Victoria Staff, The Independent
FUrida AOtptttr, U. of Florida